A common question at the welcome desk is, “I’m looking for something to read, is there anything you would recommend? It’s actually a question we love to answer, but how do we do come by the suggestions? One way is crowdsourcing!
Every month or so we hold a genre meeting on a specific topic so that each staff member who works with customers can thoughtfully respond to this very question. Having run the gamut of various types of fiction and the offerings of the Dewey Decimal System, reader’s advisory librarian, Kristin Friberg decided to change it up a little. Popular TV shows. (Did you know that we have an incredible selection of TV programs in our DVD collection?)
So far we have discussed read and ‘watch’-a-likes for Downton Abbey, Mad Men and most recently the discussion I hosted, Game of Thrones.
HBO’s smash hit Game of Thrones recently entered its fourth season and so I wanted to share with you some of the workings behind the scenes of PPL, and hopefully you can find some good things to read!
“My brother has his sword, King Robert has his warhammer and I have my mind…and a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone if it is to keep its edge. That’s why I read so much Jon Snow” – George RR Martin through the voice of Tyrion Lannister.
One of the wonderful things about Game of Thrones and the series of novels that it was based on, A Song of Ice and Fire, is that they are a genre smashing series. Historians, fans of fantasy, romance, and fiction have all become drawn into the many worlds that Martin has built. A fervent reader and lover of history himself, Martin brings his vast array of knowledge and talent for deep and haunting characters into each of his books.
Fans will know that one of his greatest talents is to offer a range of character and subtly but fundamentally challenge the way you see them…as noted in Emily Nussbaum’s New Yorker article, “… the most compelling plots remain those of the subalterns, who are forced to wield power from below. These characters range from heroic figures like the tomboy Arya Stark to villains like Littlefinger, but even the worst turn out to have psychic wounds that complicate their actions. If the show has a hero, it’s Tyrion (Dinklage), who is capable of cruelty but also possesses insight and empathy, concealed beneath a carapace of Wildean wit. So far, his strategic gifts have proved more effective than the torture-with-rats approach. Power is “a trick, a shadow on the wall,” the eunuch tells Tyrion, “And a very small man can cast a very large shadow.”
If you have #GOT the Game of Thrones bug and are looking for something to read…check out these Game of Throne Read-A-Like lists: